Opulence: The high life in Dubai

Dubai Travel Blog

I
saw another Lamborghini. That made two in twenty hours after not seeing
one for the past 24 years. Then I saw the Lambo dealership. Wow.

The past two days have been spent rummaging around Dubai, hitting up
two of the beaches, lounging in the pool, and hitting up the Wafi
Center Mall. The beaches were absolutely gorgeous with hardly any
people on them. The first one we went to was on a lagoon, so there
weren't any waves. The second one I went to was right beside the Burj
al Arab, on the Persian Gulf. Wonderful, although I think I stepped on
a crab because something pinched my foot.

Inside the Wafi Center Mall.

Ouch.

This morning I made it to the Wafi Center Mall. This whole thing is
done up in an Arabian Nights/ Egyptian pharoah type motiff. It's
actually shaped like an enormous pyramid. Quite stunning. I had planned
to look for some flipflops and sunglasses, but a quick look around told
me that wasn't going to happen. You could walk into this place with 100
grand and easily spend it in one day. The place is huge and absolutely
stacked with insane high-end stuff. I happened upon a chocolate shop.
This place apparently does a bit of catering for weddings or whatever
you have in Dubai, and the individually wrapped chocolates were set up
in some dazzling displays. Each chocolate costs about 35 bucks. Is that
right? Yeah. I took a peak at the price of one of the medium-sized
displays: Over $3,000.

Inside the Wafi Center Mall.

I was too afraid to get close to any of the
others. This chocolate must have been made of pure gold or something.
Utterly insane.

After checking out some 20,000 dollar watches and wondering what I
would buy if I were a bazillionaire, I called it quits and headed back
to the hostel in a taxi. Dubai is so gigantic that the taxi rides can
be quite expensive. I think I've already spent over $50 bucks on taxis
in the few days I've been here.

I've tried taking the bus a few times, but it didn't work out so
well. The buses are supposed to run every 12 minutes, but Dubai has
some of the worst traffic I've ever seen, so it'll usually take 30-40
minutes to see one. BUT.... keeping to the idea that luxory and comfort
are first and foremost, all of the buses are designed like express
buses with maximum leg room and minimum seating.

the Wafi Center Mall.

And virtually no
standing room. This means that they fill up quite quickly. And when
that happens, they don't let anyone on unless someone gets off. And
there are lots and lots of people trying to use the buses. I haven't
waited over an hour yet because by then I give up and get a taxi.
That's happened three out of four times now. Hooray. Hopefully this
will be somewhat alleviated when the Metro opens next year, but still
not that great for out of the way places. Renting a car is an absolute
must for anyone planning on coming here. Seeing as how a rental is
about 60 bucks a day, you'll actually save money by not taking a taxi
across the city and back. Word of advice.